Awakenings
by Purple-Lightning-Bolt
Summary: A story based off of Pokémon: The first movie. And no, the main character is NOT Ash! :P
1. Default Chapter

Awakenings  
Chapter 1  
"You Can Run, But You Can't Hide"   
As Laureen, your average 18-year-old girl returned home late from work, all she could think about was climbing into her nice warm bed and hopefully get 6 hours of sleep before she had to get up and go to college the next morning. She got in bed and fell asleep almost instantly.  
Later that night, Laureen felt a stir. She felt a huge wave of fear and anxiety come over her. The slight tremble jarred her back to consciousness. "Uhhhh...Is it morning?" She shrugged her head, passing off the feeling she had felt. Then, just as she was rolling over to edge back into the world of dreams, she looked up and saw it: a ceiling, whose great height loomed above her in no way that resembled the low-pitched ceiling so familiar to her before she had began this sleep. But...something was odd. Was she still dreaming? She pinched herself and let out a small yelp. No. This was real. She sprang to her feet and saw her bed was now a ghastly black couch. Her room was now a world she had never experienced before. This was something different alright...and wherever it was, it certainly wasn't home.  
Still a little shaky from the shock she just received, she walked around the huge room she was in. giant floating balls of green light hovered just under the seemingly endless ceiling, and she noted how the beautiful yet eerie green light bounced off the shiny surface of the pure marble walls and floor. Laureen walked towards the wall, wanting to examine it closer when she noticed her footsteps echoed loudly on the marble floor.  
  
Her heart racing, Laureen frantically looked for a hiding place-she couldn't risk someone detecting her presence. Her eyes searched the room till she saw some large pillars in the rear of the enormous room. She walked as quietly as she could over to the pillars and hid behind one.  
"Who am I kidding?" she thought. "If someone is looking for me, they would see me easily in this big room."  
Laureen looked to her left and saw a door leading to another room. Several thoughts raced through her head.  
"I could go through this door and hopefully find a better hiding place." Impressed by her seemingly ingenious plan, she put her hand to the door, but another thought crossed her mind.  
"What if there's someone on the other side of the door? Or even worse, what if someone already knows I'm here and is waiting in ambush?" Laureen silently cursed. She didn't know what to do.  
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she heard scratching noises on the marble floor. Her heart sank.  
"Oh no! Someone knows I'm here!"  
Laureen could feel her beating of her heart get faster as the scratching sounds came closer and closer, then let out a sigh of relief as they drifted away.  
"Hurry up and find her! We don't have all day!" A huge booming voice called.  
"Great. Someone is looking for me." Laureen muttered.  
"Yeah, yeah. I know." a voice said, answering the first.  
"Bring her to me when you do." The deep voice commanded.  
"Yes boss" the other responded.  
What did that guy want from her? She felt sick in the stomach, knowing that she would almost certainly be captured.  
Her attention was instantly drawn to growling noises that seemed to be just a little to close to her. She gathered enough courage too look around the pillar. She caught a glimpse of an orange scaly tail attached to two strong legs with large claws on them. She guessed that those claws where making the terrible scratching sounds she heard. The stranger lifted up various objects in the room, searching for Laureen's hiding place.  
She then heard another growl, but it was much closer this time. She quickly hid behind the pillar again.  
There was a very abrupt period of silence. Either her pursuer had found her or moved on to look for her in another area. She resisted the temptation to turn her head and check. Laureen felt all the blood drain from her face as she heard the all-too-familiar scratching sound grow closer and closer. He had found her!  
There was another period of silence. She looked out from behind the pillar slightly and could see his large wings stick out from the sides of the pillar. She now knew for sure that he knew where she was. She slid to the left a little, in hopes that she might be able to make a run for it. But to her surprise, he just moved to his right. So Laureen moved left again, and the dragon moved left, she went left, and he again moved right. Laureen was now growing very irritated, as she knew he was just playing with her now. He was just waiting for the right moment to capture her. They continued moving around the pillar for a few moments. Then Laureen decided to be bold. She took a bigger step to her left, but this time, the dragon also took a big step to his left. There they stood. Face to face. "Peek-a-boo." he said mockingly.  
Laureen screamed as loud as she could and bolted through the door to her left.  
The dragon rolled his eyes. "I hate it when they run!" he said with a scoff. He flew through the door so fast it almost came off its hinges.  
Laureen ran as fast as she could through the room, which appeared to be the kitchen. She quickly turned around and saw her pursuer closing in on her. She had to think fast. She grabbed a pot off the wall and hurled it at him, and he easily dodged it.  
"You're gonna have to do better than that!" he yelled at her. Laureen growled and went through the other door of the kitchen. She paused as she looked around this new room. There was a large banquet table, a fountain and a huge spiraling staircase that seemed to go up forever. Laureen jumped as she heard a furious flapping of wings behind her. "I've got to keep trying and outrun him!" she thought. She began to run. "Ah-ah-ah! You're not getting away this time!" The dragon increased his speed and suddenly Laureen felt a pair of hands with large claws attached to them wrap tightly around her forearms. Still trying to figure out what he was doing, she looked down at her feet and saw they were no longer on the ground. "He must be flying me to his boss!" Laureen thought. Just the be sure, she decided to ask. "Where are you taking me?!" Laureen snapped. Amused by her sudden outburst the dragon smiled. "My boss just wants to have a few words wit' cha. You shouldn't be nervous. He's a real nice guy." He said looking down at her. Laureen looked up and met the dragon's cold eyes and frowned, as she knew that this meeting with this mysterious 'boss' could not mean anything good for her. She looked up and saw they were headed for the huge staircase in the center of the room. "Y-your boss' room is...up there?" she asked in shock. "Yeah." he replied. "He sure knows how to make his guests feel welcome." she said sarcastically. She looked up to see the dragon laughing at her comment. Suddenly Laureen felt something very strange. All the anger and suspicions of her captor started to go away. She began to think that she was actually starting too like him. "No! He's part of an evil scheme!" She protested with herself. "I can't like him!" Laureen snapped out of her daydream to find that they were almost at the top of the staircase! Her heart began to pound as she thought about what was about to happen. A few seconds later, they landed in a small alcove at the top of the stairs with a huge door in the center. The dragon put her down and then turned to face her. "Alright. Now before we go in, you need to know a couple things." he started. "One. Don't say anything to piss him off. He has a really short temper. Secondly--" He was interrupted by Laureen. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You told me he was a 'real nice guy'!" she quoted him. "Well he is...when things go his way." He responded, a little bitterly. "Sounds like he needs an attitude adjustment." Laureen thought. "Whatever. Let's just get this over with." she told him. He nodded, pushed a button and the door slid open. She motioned for him to go in. "No, no. Ladies first." he prodded. Laureen gave him a sideways smile and the dragon followed her into the room. The boss' 'office' had a circular design and was made of stone. It had a large window that encircled almost the whole room. It had a beautiful view of the sky. Laureen now realized just how high up they were. Her gaze was instantly drawn to a large chair in the center of the room, facing the window. In it was a figure, seemingly very tall as his head stuck up well beyond the top of the chair. She heard her 'friend' beside her clear his thought. "Boss, I've brought the girl." he said confidently. Laureen looked at him sharply. She was annoyed by the fact that he referred to her only as 'the girl'. She then saw the huge chair spin around and watched as the tall imposing figure started to hover over to her. Laureen's eyes widened as she tried to figure out an explanation for how and why he was doing that. She couldn't think of any, other than the fact the he was trying to intimidate her. As he neared her, she noticed that he was at least half a foot taller than the dragon, and had pale gray skin. Laureen could even see a slight resemblance to a cat in him, as he had a long, powerful tail that was colored darker than the rest of his skin. "Hello Laureen." he said smoothly. "Hello." she answered with a forced smile. "He didn't tell you my name?" there was a hint of annoyance in his voice as he glared at the dragon. The dragon blushed, as he was clearly embarrassed.  
  
"Forgive me sir." he said quickly. He motioned to his boss. "Mewtwo...Laureen." he said, looking at Mewtwo then at Laureen. Laureen wondered why he had a name like "Mewtwo". It seemed like such an odd name. "...And Laureen, Mewtwo." He said, finishing the introduction. "Thank you, Charizard. That will be all." Mewtwo said. "So Charizard's his name! That's such a cool name!" Laureen thought. "Yes sir." Charizard answered. He backed away a few steps leaving Mewtwo and Laureen to talk. "Come on. I'd like to have a little chat with you." Mewtwo said cheerfully. He motioned her to the other side of the room, with the chair. Laureen looked at the chair closely and was amazed by how big it actually was! Noting her surprise in the chair, Mewtwo smiled. "You can sit in it." Laureen hesitated. "Go ahead." he reassured her. So, she sat down, and looked out at the fantastic view of the sky. There was quiet for a while. Then Mewtwo unexpectedly broke the silence. "Lovely weather today huh?" "Yes. The clouds look so beautiful from up here" Laureen replied. "You know, this palace was built over 500 years ago...though no one really knows who built it." Mewtwo told her. "No one knows?" She repeated. "That's right. In fact, people say it suddenly appeared one day...just like that." he added. Both fascinated and disturbed by the story, she could only mutter a "wow." There was another long pause. Laureen began to wonder if he was avoiding having the talk he wanted to have with her just to irritate her. She tried to think of a way to ask without angering him. "Excuse me, but didn't you say you wanted to talk to me about something?" To her relief, he didn't get angry. He actually smiled, as though he was waiting for her to ask. "Oh, yes of course. I am sorry." he said, though there was no note of apology in his voice at all. He turned to face her. "You see...Laureen, you have a gift not many people have." Mewtwo started. Laureen didn't know what to make of that. "W-what do you mean?" She asked, unable to hide her fright. Mewtwo's mouth curled upwards slightly into a sinister smile. "Give me your hand." Laureen hesitated, and then held out her hand. Then Mewtwo put his palm against hers. "Now, close your eyes." She obeyed, and Mewtwo did the same. "Now, just relax. You might feel a little sting, but it wont be for long." Mewtwo said. Laureen still didn't know what he was doing, and braced herself. Mewtwo released a surge of psychic energy from his palm and Laureen let out a grunt of pain as she felt the stinging sensation going through her body as Mewtwo described. "Don't worry. We're almost done." Mewtwo told her. Laureen endured the pain for a few more seconds. Then the pain abruptly stopped. Mewtwo opened his eyes and was pleased with himself as he looked down at Laureen's hand. "You can open your eyes." He commanded. She looked straight into his cold, deep violet eyes, and waited for him to give an explanation. He realized she was very anxious to find out what had happened, and simply said, "Look at your hand." Laureen looked down at her right hand in horror. There was a tiny globe of light hovering just above its surface. "What is that?!" she demanded. "Believe it or not, you created that, not me." Mewtwo explained. "I just helped to awaken your power." Laureen was still too dumbfounded to say anything. Mewtwo leaned in a little closer. "Congratulations, Laureen. You can now use magic." Mewtwo finished. Laureen was absolutely stupefied. "Magic? I can use...magic?" she mumbled. A thousand different thoughts raced through her head. "Why did he want to awaken my magic? Certainly not because he's a nice guy. And how did he know I had it in the first place? And from the way he was talking, it sounds like he's done this before--" Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt something on her shoulder. She looked up to see Charizard looking down at her, smiling. "You better believe it, kid." He said, responding to her question.  
--TO BE CONTINUED... 


	2. Awakenings Chapter 2

Awakenings  
Chapter 2  
  
As Laureen was still recovering from the shock she just received, Mewtwo announced that he had something to do down stairs.  
  
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Laureen." he said politely.  
  
"Pleasure meeting you, too." Laureen answered with a forced smile. With that, Mewtwo left the room and flew down the stairs. Laureen wondered why there was a staircase there is Charizard and Mewtwo never used it!  
  
"Glad he's gone." Laureen said under her breath.  
  
"I know what you mean." Charizard said with a chuckle.  
  
Laureen's stomach turned as she once again thought about her magic.  
  
"Why did this have to happen to me? I had plenty to worry about before this happened. I have no idea how strong this magic is or how to control it! What if I--" her thoughts were interrupted as she heard Charizard's voice.  
  
"Heeeeello...is anyone home? Hello?" He said, waving his hand in front of Laureen's face, trying to snap her out of her daydream. Laureen instantly realized how long she was lost in her thoughts.  
  
"Huh?" Laureen said quickly.  
  
Charizard eyed her curiously. "Are you ok, Laureen?" he asked. Laureen was pleased that he showed some concern for her.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine." Laureen answered, her voice a little unstable. Charizard smiled thoughtfully.  
  
"Good." he said. He left Laureen's side and started to walk towards the door.  
  
"Where are you going?" Laureen asked worriedly. Something deep inside of her didn't want Charizard to go.  
  
"Just going downstairs. Come on, I'll show you to your room." Charizard said as he turned to face her.  
  
"I have my own room?" Laureen thought to herself.  
  
"Uh...ok." She answered, a little nervously. She walked the door, but quickly realized Charizard wasn't with her. She whirled around and saw him still standing in Mewtwo's room.  
  
"Aren't you coming?" Laureen asked impatiently. Charizard let out an annoyed sigh.  
  
"If you wanna walk down all those steps yourself, be my guest. I was thinkin' maybe I could give you a ride down, but if you'd rather not--" As much as Laureen hated to admit it, he was right.  
  
"Ok, ok! Fine." She finally agreed. Laureen approached him but stopped as Char lowered himself to the ground.  
  
"Well...get on!" Charizard said impatiently. Laureen cautiously mounted Charizard's back and planted her hands firmly on his neck. Charizard took a moment to glance back at her.  
  
"Ready?" he asked. Laureen gulped. She'd never ridden anything before in her life.  
  
"Ready when you are." Laureen replied with her voice wavering. She felt a bump as Charizard took a step forward. As Charizard's stride lengthened, Laureen tried desperately not to fall off as it became bumpier and bumpier. She noticed that Charizard was now running very fast, and took a moment to exercise his wings by flapping them a couple times. Laureen forced herself to look in front of her and say the staircase dead ahead!  
  
"Hold on!" Charizard called out. Laureen tightened her grip on his neck, and braced herself for what was coming next. When Charizard was at the edge of the platform, he took a huge leap and jumped off the edge of the platform and together they dropped like a stone to the bottom of the staircase. Laureen screamed in terror as she saw how fast they were falling.  
  
"Oh no! We're gonna crash!" Laureen thought. She looked around her to see the walls, the staircase...everything passing by her in a blur.  
  
When they were only several feet from the ground, Charizard unexpectedly spread his wings and were now flying gracefully through the air. Laureen let out a loud sigh of relief to see that they were safe! She noticed that Charizard was headed for a large double-door on top of a short staircase. The beating of Charizard's wings grew slower and further apart, then they landed in front of the gigantic door with a 'thump'. She slid off his back and turned to face him.  
  
"Whew! When you said you'd give me a ride you weren't kidding!" Laureen said, her voice still a little shaky. Charizard laughed.  
  
"Well, it's better than having to climb down all those stairs, huh?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess so." Laureen said with a smile.  
  
"Well, this is your room." Charizard said as he swung the two huge wooden doors inward. Laureen stepped into the room and he followed. What Laureen first noticed about the room was despite it's large imposing doors, the room was actually quite small. She saw a bed to her left with very expensive looking wood with intricate designs of flowers etched into its surface. To her right was a dresser made out of the same beautiful wood. Attached to it was a large mirror that had a wooden trim. She looked up and saw a circular globe-light, similar to the one she saw in the room in which she first arrived.  
  
"So, how do you like it?" Charizard asked. He walked a few steps beyond Laureen and sat on the bed. She walked over to the bed and joined him.  
  
"Hmm...I guess I can call this place home for a few days." Laureen said cheerfully. Charizard looked at Laureen and frowned slightly.  
  
"You might be here a little longer than that."  
  
Laureen's cheerful attitude vanished.  
  
"What do you mean?" She asked as she wondered what he was about to tell her.  
  
"Well..." Charizard thought of a way to tell her this without upsetting her.  
  
"You don't learn how to use magic in just a few days, ya know." He started.  
  
"Well, yeah. I'm guessing it will take quite a while to learn it." Laureen responded.  
  
"...But you also can't learn magic on your own. You need a teacher that is experienced with it." Charizard continued. Laureen froze as she realized who Charizard meant.  
  
"You mean...Mewtwo?" She said as she choked on her words. Charizard knew she didn't want to hear this news, but she was going to find out sooner out later, so he had to tell her...  
  
"Well...yes. I know he can be a little...difficult at times, but he's the best teacher you can have for this. And if all goes well, you could be done in just a few weeks." He said, hoping to cheer her up. That only made Laureen feel worse.  
  
"Why does it have to be...him?! I wish he never awakened my magic in the first place! Having to spend even one day with that creep is one too many!" Laureen wanted so badly to say her thoughts out loud, but she refrained from it.  
  
Charizard saw the look of sadness and anger on Laureen's face and felt awful. He had to try and cheer her up.  
  
"Hey, what do ya say I give you a little tour of the castle?" Charizard said excitedly. Laureen felt to angry and depressed to do anything right now.  
  
"Maybe later." She answered, her voice barely audible.  
  
"Aw, c'mon! It'll be fun!" Charizard said, nudging her shoulder. "Plus you  
  
wouldn't want to ever get lost in this huge place, would you?" Charizard knew she couldn't argue with that. Laureen's mouth curved upwards slightly into a half-smile.  
  
"Ok, you've convinced me!" Laureen answered. Charizard could tell by the tone of her voice that she was starting to fell better.  
  
"Ha! Now that's what I like to hear!" Charizard said as he rose from the bed and swiftly flew out the double-doors. Laureen hurried after him but she went into the room, she didn't see him anywhere. She cautiously took a few steps and looked in every direction, but still no sign of him. Then she stopped as she heard Charizard's voice from above.  
  
"So, you all ready down there?" His voice called. He was apparently very up high, because Laureen could just barely hear his voice.  
  
"Yeah." Laureen shouted as she continued to desperately find Charizard's hiding place. Everything was still for a few moments, and Laureen wondered if he was only playing a trick on her.  
  
Suddenly, Laureen heard the familiar beating of Charizard's wings behind her. He came down so fast. Laureen didn't even have time to look behind her to see him approaching. She cringed as Charizard's ice-cold claws touch her arms. She looked down and saw the ground becoming farther away. She instantly realized he was repeating what he did when he first captured her.  
  
"I wish you'd warn me before you do that!" Laureen shouted.  
  
"Well what'd be the fun in that?" he answered with a broad smile.  
  
Charizard effortlessly navigated through the castle, showing Laureen all the many rooms and which hallways lead to which ones. Laureen wondered how he could memorize the location of every single thing in the castle!  
  
"You sure know your way around here, Charizard." she told him  
  
"Well when you've been here for as long as I have, it kinda comes naturally." Charizard answered with a chuckle.  
  
As they came to the end of the 'tour', Laureen spotted an indent in the wall below them.  
  
"Hey, what's that?" She exclaimed.  
  
"What's what?" he asked.  
  
"That-that hole in the wall...down there." Laureen continued, pointing to it. Char hesitated before answering.  
  
"Oh, it's just a tunnel that goes under the castle and it leads to different rooms. But no one ever uses it. I honestly don't know why it's there..." he said. He started to fly away, but Laureen stopped him.  
  
"Can I see it anyway?" Laureen was determined to see everything in the castle.  
  
"There's really nothing special about it." he said quickly. Laureen was almost certain Charizard was hiding something from her, and she was going to find out what it was.  
  
"But it's the only part of the castle I haven't seen!" She protested.  
  
"Trust me, there's nothing down there Laureen so let's go!" Charizard said, almost shouting. He as now clearly very annoyed. But Laureen wasn't about to give up.  
  
"Ok, well can I at least look inside it?" Charizard thought for a few moments. "I guess there's no harm in that." he thought.  
  
"Ok...but only look inside." he said with a sigh. They floated down towards the tunnel. Laureen was surprised to see that it went about 20 feet underground. When they were finally on solid ground, Laureen noticed there were puddles of polluted water scattered on the ground. She wrinkled her nose as the stench from the water lingered in the air too.  
  
She jumped as she heard a splash behind her. Charizard had landed in a huge puddle of the polluted water! Laureen resisted the temptation to laugh as Charizard groaned and tried to shake the water off him.  
  
"Ugh! This is why I hate coming down here! It's so wet!" Charizard said. He had finally got all the water off him. He took a few steps backward but forgot to look where he was going and he stepped into an even bigger puddle! Laureen ran over to him.  
  
"Are you ok?" she said, laughing.  
  
"Yes." he snapped. "I knew we shouldn't have come down here!" He said angrily as he continued to shake the water off him.  
  
"Well, you got look. Let's go." he said as he turned around to leave.  
  
"Wait a minute." Laureen said. She still wanted to explore. She walked down the hall and saw tiny lights on the ceiling giving off just enough light to be able to see in the dark corridor. She saw that it cut off to the left.  
  
"What's down here?" she shouted back to Charizard.  
  
"Just leads to the kitchen."  
  
"Really?" Laureen said. She turned the corner and began to walk down the hallway.  
  
"Laureen! Where are you going! You promised you would just look inside!" Charizard yelled angrily. Laureen stuck her head around the corner.  
  
"Ok, I lied." Laureen replied with a smile. She began to run down the hall.  
  
Charizard growled in frustration. He took off down the hall as fast as his wings could carry him. He slowed as he neared the corner and saw that Laureen was already halfway down the hallway.  
  
"Where do you think you're going?!" he screamed. Laureen didn't answer. Instead, she turned a corner to her right.  
  
Charizard almost came to a complete stop.  
  
"Oh no, not there!" he mumbled. "I've got to stop her!" he thought. He flew like a jet, kicking up water as he sped down the corridor. To Charizard's surprise and dismay, he saw that she'd stopped, examining a large door. Charizard's heart skipped a beat. "I can't let her go in there!" he thought frantically.  
  
Laureen yelped as she head Charizard's wings beating harder and faster that she'd ever heard.  
  
"You weren't...thinking about going in there were you?" He asked. His breathing was heavy. Laureen was now even more suspicious.  
  
"Why? What's in there?" she asked.  
  
"Like I said, it's the kitchen. Now let's get outta here!" Charizard demanded. Laureen found it strange that Charizard was so scared of going to the kitchen.  
  
"Really? Then you wouldn't mind if I take a look." She said.  
  
"Laureen! Don't!" Charizard pleaded. With a smirk, Laureen pushed a button and the door slid open. Laureen slowly walked into the room.  
  
"Well I guess she gonna find out sooner or later." Charizard thought to himself. He followed her into the room.  
  
"This has to be the weirdest kitchen I've ever seen." Laureen said as she looked around. The most noticeable thing in the room was a large metal structure about 25 feet tall. It was circular and it had a swirl on the side that made it look like a snail's shell. at the center of the swirl was a huge, beautiful red gem. Attached to it was what looked like a conveyer belt. Charizard let out a long sigh.  
  
"Alright, I confess. This isn't the kitchen." he said, crossing his arms.  
  
"Well then what is it?" Laureen asked. She was very anxious to see why Charizard was so unwilling to come here.  
  
"It's pretty complicated. Come over here." Charizard said as he flew over to the opposite side of the room. Laureen Followed and she saw a machine with many buttons on it. On top of it was a large screen.  
  
Charizard pressed the largest button, which turned it on. Laureen waited  
  
impatiently for something to show up on the screen. He pressed a couple buttons and an image appeared. It looked like a piece of curved wire with several spikes sticking out of it.  
  
"What is it?" She asked excitedly. Charizard turned to face her.  
  
"Ok. Listen very carefully." She nodded.  
  
"This is a DNA sample from Mew." He began. He pressed another button and an image of a pink, cat-like creature appeared.  
  
"Is that Mew?" Laureen asked.  
  
"Yes." he answered. "Mew is said to be the ancestor of all living things, is the most powerful creature on earth, or at least that's how the legend goes. Only a few people worldwide have ever seen it." Charizard continued. He glanced at Laureen and saw she was listening intently, so he went on.  
  
"So naturally, people wanted to take Mew's power and duplicate it. But that wasn't good enough. They were determined to make something so terrible, so powerful that it would even put Mew to shame. So after years of genetic experiments, they took the DNA from Mew and made--"  
  
"Mewtwo!" Laureen interrupted.  
  
"That's right." Charizard said with a smile. He was pleased she understood this so easily.  
  
"So Mewtwo was cloned from the most powerful thing on earth?" Laureen thought. Now she was even more frightened of Mewtwo than before.  
  
"But I only have one question. If Mew was only seen by a few people, how did they manage to get its DNA?" she asked.  
  
"They found it in a fossilized piece of Mew's eyebrow." Charizard answered.  
  
"Oh. Well does that mean that Mew is...dead?"  
  
"No, no. Mew is very much alive. In fact, about a month ago, someone said they saw it. It was just a few miles from here"  
  
"Wow" Laureen said in amazement. She suddenly remembered the huge circular structure she saw when she came in the room.  
  
"What is this?" she asked, pointing to it. Charizard drew in a sharp breath. He was hoping she wouldn't ask. "I-it's a cloning machine." she said hesitantly.  
  
"This is a cloning machine?" Laureen asked with wide eyes.  
  
"Yeah. we can clone just about anything we want to in this thing." Charizard answered.  
  
"Anything?" she repeated. He nodded. Laureen was a little disturbed with  
  
the fact that anything...even her could be cloned in just seconds.  
  
Charizard frowned as he watched Laureen examine the cloning machine. "I have to tell her." he said quietly. He flew over to her side. "Laureen..." he started.  
  
"Hmm?" Laureen said, a little surprised. She didn't hear him fly over to her. Charizard gulped.  
  
"There-there's something you should know..." Charizard said. He was obviously having trouble saying this. "What? What is it?" Laureen asked worriedly. "I..." Charizard looked at the cloning machine again.  
  
"What's wrong Charizard?" Laureen asked.  
  
"It's-it's nothing."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yeah." he said, looking away.  
  
"But Charizard--" Laureen was interrupted by Charizard.  
  
"It's nothing! Let's get out of here." he snapped. Laureen decided it was better to not say anything and mounted Charizard's back. Then they started their journey back to Laureen's room. Neither of them talked the entire way.  
  
"I wonder what could be bothering him. It seemed like there was something pretty important he had to say...maybe I'll ask him later when he's in a little better mood." Laureen thought. Charizard was also deep in thought.  
  
"I can't believe I choked! Why couldn't I tell her?! It was like something was holding me back, refusing to let me tell her..."  
  
A few moments later they came to the room with the huge spiral staircase. As Charizard flew over to Laureen's room he stopped. Laureen was so startled she nearly fell off.  
  
"What is it?" She asked  
  
"Look." Charizard said, pointing to the ground beneath them. Laureen saw Mewtwo flying around the room.  
  
"What's he doing?" Laureen asked.  
  
"He's looking for us. We're late." Charizard responded.  
  
"What do u mean we're late?"  
  
"We have a curfew around here." He finished. Laureen scoffed.  
  
"Curfew? What is he, my dad or something?" Laureen said sarcastically. She hoped that would lighten Charizard's mood. Apparently, it worked as he laughed a little.  
  
"We better get down there. Maybe he wont see us." Charizard said. He glanced back at Laureen and she nodded. He stealthily flew to her room. When they landed, Charizard put his hand on the door handle but before he turned it, the door opened by itself! They turned around to see Mewtwo, using his psychic powers to open the door. "Oh! Good evening, boss." Charizard said quickly.  
  
"Thank you, Charizard. Now you better get to bed. Both of you were out after curfew!" Mewtwo scolded.  
  
"Yes sir. Very sorry sir. Right away sir." Charizard said, stumbling on his words. He flew off, to his room Laureen guessed. Se smiled as she noticed Charizard got as nervous around Mewtwo as she did.  
  
"Well, you better get to sleep, Laureen. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow." He told her.  
  
"Yes...sir." Laureen answered, her voice a little shaky.  
  
"Good night." Mewtwo said.  
  
"Good night." She answered. Mewtwo closed the door with his psychic powers. Laureen wondered what he meant by 'work'. She looked at her watch. it was 11:45. "No wonder I'm so tired." Laureen yawned. She climbed into her bed and got under the amazingly soft blankets.  
  
As tired as she was, it was impossible for her to go to sleep. She thought about everything that happened that night. For the first time in hours, she remembered her magic. Laureen preferred not to think about it. Then she remembered how upset Charizard got, but smiled as she thought of the times her flew her around the castle, and when he got water all over him in the underground tunnel. Eventually her thoughts came back to Mewtwo. She wondered what he wanted with her and her magic. She instantly pushed the thought away.  
  
Laureen yawned again and thought it was best for her to go to sleep. So she turned the light off and fell asleep almost instantly. 


	3. Chapter 3

Awakenings

Chapter 3

"Training Begins"

The next morning, Laureen was awakened from a good dream by the sound of her door creaking open. She heard the light tapping of footsteps on the floor. Still trying to wake up, she saw a blurred silhouette of Charizard standing over her, smiling.

"Mornin' sunshine." he said sarcastically.

"Ugh. What time is it?" Laureen groaned. She looked at the clock sitting on her dresser. It was 8:30.

"It's...to early. Must...sleep." Laureen said weakly. She laid back down in her bed.

"C'mon Laureen! It's time to get up!" Charizard said, taking to covers off her.

"No it's not. I'm never up before noon." Laureen mumbled into her pillow. She pulled her covers over her.

"But today's the day you start your magic training!" Charizard said, taking the covers off again. Laureen caught the blanket halfway.

"All the more reason to stay in bed then." she said grumpily. Charizard leaned down to meet her eyes.

"Did I mention there's steaming hot blueberry pancakes waiting for you on the kitchen table?" He hoped that would be enough to get her of bed. To his surprise, it worked. Laureen's eyes lit up and she sat straight up in her bed.

"Well why didn't you say so?!" She yelled. Laureen jumped out of her bed, grabbed her clothes sitting on the dresser and ran into the bathroom to change.

"Hm. I'm starting to like that kid." Charizard said to himself.

When Laureen made it to the kitchen, she heard several voices on the other side of the door. She recognized Charizard's and Mewtwo's, but a couple were unfamiliar. Since Laureen couldn't make out what the voices were saying, she opened the door ever so slightly. As she did, the delicious smell of blueberries filled the air. She'd forgotten how long it had been since she last ate! After a few moments, she forgot about trying to hear what the voices were saying and could only focus on the aroma of the blueberries. Right when she was about to open the door, it swung outwards and hit her in the face.

"Whoa! Laureen, are you ok?" Charizard said with a giggle.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She replied, rubbing her nose.

"Good, 'cause I have a couple friends I want you to meet." He said excitedly.

"But wait I--" Without letting Laureen finish her sentence, Charizard grabbed her arm and went into the kitchen. Laureen identified the two sitting at the table as the two voices that she hadn't recognized earlier.

"Well look who finally decided to wake up!" One said angrily. He appeared to be a gigantic turtle. Laureen found it strange that he had blue skin. She'd never seen a blue turtle before!

"Yeah, we've been waiting for you to get your magic butt in here for like half an hour!" the other added. He stood almost seven feet tall, Laureen guessed, had blood-red eyes and had what looked like a huge plant on his back.

"FOOLS! Shut your mouths!" Mewtwo yelled furiously. He struck them both with a wooden spoon he was using to cook.

"You'll have to excuse them. They're always cranky before they've had their breakfast. Mewtwo said apologetically.

"Uh...sure." Laureen said nervously.

"Now Laureen allow me to introduce to you...Blastoise." Charizard said, motioning to the turtle.

"The one and only!" Blastoise said, holding his head up high and putting his hands on hips. Charizard rolled his eyes.

"And...Venusaur." he finished. A vine came out from the plant on his back, and it stopped in front of Laureen.

"Nice to meet ya." he said. Laureen realized that this was his way of shaking hands.

"Likewise." Laureen said, shaking the vine.

"Please, have a seat Laureen. Mewtwo said, pulling out a chair for her.

"Thank you." Laureen said politely. As she sat down, she noticed Mewtwo had a white apron on with flowers printed on it. He looked so ridiculous, Laureen had to put a hand over her mouth so she wouldn't laugh. As Mewtwo walked over to the stove, Laureen snuck in a giggle under her breath. Charizard who was sitting beside her, heard it.

"What's so funny?" He asked softly so no one else would hear.

"Does he always wear that apron when he cooks?" she asked.

"Yes. And he looks like an idiot in it." Charizard replied.

"I know." Laureen said, once again trying not to laugh.

"Hey! What's all this whispering going on over here? You weren't talking about me were ya?! 'Cause if you were..." Blastoise threatened, holding up a fist.

"Relax Blastoise. It has nothing to do with you." Charizard said.

"Oh? Than what does it have to do with?" Mewtwo asked, giving Laureen her plate of pancakes.

"Uuuuuuuuh..." Charizard and Laureen said together. They hoped the other would have an answer.

"I was just uh...telling Laureen how good your famous blueberry pancakes are, boss." Charizard said.

"Nice save Charizard." Laureen whispered to him.

"Thanks." he smiled.

"Well you don't have to be so secretive about it! Just let the girl find out for herself!" Mewtwo said.

"Sorry boss." Charizard said, his voice a little shaky from nervousness. Laureen shoved a bite of pancake in her mouth. Everyone at the table was anxious to see her reaction.

"Oh my God!" Laureen said after swallowing.

"What? You don't like them?" Venusaur asked.

"No! They're great! I can see why you're so famous for these, Mewtwo!" she said, taking another bite.

"Hehe. I've never met _any_one who didn't like my blueberry pancakes." Mewtwo said proudly.

"I can believe that!" Laureen said, taking another huge bite.

After breakfast, Laureen went back to her room before her magic training began. She still felt tired and laid in her bed.

"Magic...I wonder it will like? How long will it take to learn? What skills will I learn?" So many different thoughts raced through her mind. She still didn't know if she liked the idea of having magic. She had no idea what it was capable of...or what it would do to her. After a few minutes she drifted off to sleep, but was awoken by someone knocking on her door. Her heart skipped a beat.

"It must be Mewtwo telling me it's time to start training." She sighed and got out of bed. "I guess I gotta do this sometime." She said to herself. She opened the door.

"Oh! Charizard! I thought it was Mewtwo telling me it's time..." She said in relief. Charizard looked guilty.

"Well actually..._I'm_ here to tell you that it's time to start." He said with a frown. Laureen whimpered.

"Oh, come on. I'm sure it won't be that bad. Besides, Mewtwo told me the first lesson will only take a few minutes." he assured her.

"Well, ok. I guess I better get goin' then..." Laureen said, walking over to the doorway.

"Good luck." Charizard said.

"Thanks. I'm gonna need it." Laureen responded with a smile. As she walked out of her room, she saw Mewtwo seated at the couch at the opposite side of the room. Mewtwo saw her and to Laureen's surprise, he disappeared from the couch and reappeared right in front of her!

"Ah!" Laureen said in shock.

"So, are you ready to begin?" Mewtwo asked.

"Um...yeah. And how did you get over here so quickly?"

"I teleported. You will be learning to do that as well." Mewtwo answered,

"Really?!" Laureen said excitedly.

"Yes. Your type of magic lets you teleport and read minds, which are abilities that psychics, like me, and magic users share." He glanced at Laureen to make sure she was still listening. Her eyes were wide open. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Wait...you mean there are different types of magic?" Laureen asked in confusion.

"Yes. Many kinds. There is magic that allows you to heal people, turn yourself invisible, or even move backwards or forwards in time." Mewtwo went on.

"Time travel...wow." Laureen was very impressed. She thought that one day, she could have these amazing powers. Then she remembered what Mewtwo said about different types of magic.

"So, what type of magic do I have?"

"Well, actually, you don't have any of those." He replied. Laureen frowned. This meant she could never learn any of the magic Mewtwo had just told her about.

"You have what's called elemental magic. You can use magic like lightning, fire, ice and so on." Mewtwo finished.

"Oh wow! That's awesome! When can we start training?!" Laureen forgot all about time travel and teleportation. Elemental magic was much more exiting. Mewtwo laughed as he was amused by her enthusiasm.

"Well, we have to start with the basics. Elemental magic is dangerous if you do not know how to control it. First, you learn mind reading. Please, follow me." Mewtwo said. He hovered towards a small table and, as Mewtwo commanded, she followed him. Laureen was a bit irritated that it would take so long to learn to use elemental magic. "Oh well. Maybe mind reading won't be that bad." She thought.

Laureen sat down at the small table. Mewtwo sat opposite of her.

"Alright. Now, before we begin, there are a couple things you need to keep in mind." Mewtwo started. Laureen nodded in reply.

"First of all, you can read the minds of anyone, but only those with talents like ours can talk to each other through mind reading.

"Well that makes sense." Laureen commented.

"Secondly, you must remember that even though you have the ability to read minds, it is _very_ rude to enter someone's mind with out asking their permission first. Do you understand Laureen?"

"Yes. It'd be the same as entering a room with out knocking right?" She asked.

"Yes! Very good. You seem to be understanding this quite well." Mewtwo complimented.

"Thanks." Laureen said with a half smile. "Can we start practicing now?" She knew she had to learn this before the elemental magic.

"Very well." Mewtwo smiled. "First, we will communicate using our minds, since that is more complicated than simply reading minds." Mewtwo explained.

"Ok." Laureen agreed.

"Before you can do anything, you must learn to relax. Now, close your eyes." he commanded. Laureen obeyed, but opened one eye slightly to see if Mewtwo closed his eyes too. Mewtwo also snuck a peek to make sure she was obeying.

"Ah, ah, ah! No cheating!" He said.

"Ok." Laureen giggled.

"Now, take a few deep breaths." Mewtwo told her.

"This is stupid." Laureen thought. "How is this going to help me mind read?!"

"Oh, trust me. It _is_ necessary." Mewtwo said.

"H-how did you...?" Laureen stuttered.

"Mind reading...remember?" he answered.

"Oh...yeah." Laureen felt her face warming out of embarrassment. Mewtwo wasn't supposed to hear that!

As they continued to relax, Mewtwo instructed Laureen to block all the thoughts going through her mind. This wasn't easy for Laureen. She couldn't stop thinking about the elemental magic. But she didn't want him to read her mind again and forced herself to do it. A couple minutes passed, but nothing was happening, and Laureen was getting impatient.

"Nothing's happening, Mewtwo! What's wrong?" She asked.

"You're trying too hard. Just relax, and take your time." He replied.

Once again, Laureen blocked out every thought in her head but still...nothing. Just when she was about to give up, a huge booming voice appeared out of nowhere.

"_Laureen...Laureen, can you hear me?"_ Mewtwo's familiar voice echoed in her head. She almost spoke out loud, but remembered they were mind reading, so she thought it instead.

_"Yes."_ Laureen answered. Her voice too, echoed in her head, like she was in an empty room.

_"Good. See how easy this is?"_ Mewtwo's voice called.

_"Yeah. It's kinda fun too!"_ Laureen told him.

_"Hehe. Well, it appears that you've mastered the basics of mind reading, Laureen. You may open your eyes now."_ Mewtwo's booming voice called. As Laureen opened her eyes, his loud voice faded away, and it took her a moment to recover from what just happened.

"Did you enjoy mind reading for the first time?" Mewtwo asked.

"Yeah. Once I got the hang of it, it was easy." She said proudly.

"Well, since you're so confident, I have a homework assignment for you." Mewtwo said, standing up.

"Homework?" Laureen groaned. "Do I have to write an essay or something?" She asked. Mewtwo laughed.

"Hmm...as essay. That's not a bad idea." Mewtwo said with a smirk.

"NO!" Laureen yelled.

"Don't worry. You don't actually have to write an essay. All you have to do is successfully mind read someone." He finished.

"Oh. That should be pretty easy." Laureen said cheerfully.

"Do you know who you will mind read?" Mewtwo asked. Laureen thought a moment.

"Hmm...I don't know...Charizard?" She said.

"I figured you'd say that." Mewtwo smiled. "And don't forget to ask his permission first!" He reminded her.

"I won't. Thank you for teaching me this Mewtwo." Laureen said politely.

"Oh, the pleasure's all mine." The way Mewtwo looked at Laureen sent shivers up her spine. He glared straight into Laureen's eyes and the same eerie, sinister smile wiped across his face, just as when she first met him. Memories came rushing back to her. She remembered how suddenly she arrived to the castle, and how Charizard hunted her down, and then took her to Mewtwo. Her sole purpose for being here was to awaken her magic. But why...something just wasn't right.

"Laureen? Are you alright?" Mewtwo asked after a minute.

"What...oh, yeah. I-I'm fine." She said, snapping back to reality.

"Well uh, I got that homework to do so..." Laureen said, getting out of

her chair taking a couple steps back. Right now, all she wanted to do was get away from Mewtwo.

"Alright. Tomorrow you will be learning teleportation. You're free to do whatever you like now." Said Mewtwo.

"Th-thanks." She answered. She walked as fast as she could without running back to her room. Mewtwo remained there, watching her.

"What's gotten into her?" He asked himself. "Could she—no, that's impossible." He said. He flew up the spiral staircase to his room.

When Laureen returned to her room, she remembered that she didn't get enough sleep the night before. She laid down in bed and fell asleep in a matter of minutes.

Unfortunately, the peace didn't last. The door loudly creaked open. Laureen, who was still half asleep, looked to see who it was. As she expected, it was Charizard.

"Sorry. Did I wake you?" He asked, still standing in the doorway. Even though Laureen was very tired, she enjoyed it when Charizard came to visit her.

"No, no. Come on in." She motioned for him to sit beside her on the bed.

"Are you sure? You look really tired." Charizard said, sitting Laureen's bed.

"Trust me. I'm fine." Laureen reassured him.

"Well, if you say so. How did the trainin' go?"

"Mewtwo told me I have elemental magic. And I can use fire and lightning and stuff." For the first time in a while, Laureen once again grew excited by the thought of elemental magic.

"Wow! Can you show me?" Charizard asked.

"I wish." She frowned. "Mewtwo said I have to learn these stupid mind reading and teleportation things first."

"Oh." Charizard said. He sounded disappointed. "Hey, what were you doing at that table?" He asked curiously. Laureen's face turned bright red.

"Y-you saw that?!" she said in surprise. Seeing her embarrassed expression, Charizard couldn't help but grin.

"Yeah. Did you fall asleep or something? I saw your eyes closed." He teased.

"N-no! I-I was just..." Laureen stuttered. Her face was now an even brighter red. Suddenly, she remembered the task Mewtwo gave her.

"Oh, I almost forgot! As a homework assignment, I have to read your mind." Laureen said. Charizard's eyes widened.

"He gives you homework?! Geez, he's a tough teacher!" He said, Laureen giggled.

"Yeah. But I don't really mind." Laureen told him. A few seconds of silence passed. It seemed very awkward and uncomfortable to both of them, so Charizard got brave and broke the silence.

"So...what do I have to do so you can read my mind?"

"You don't have to do anything. Just think something and we'll see if I can hear what you are thinking."

"Uh...ok." He answered nervously.

"Are you ready?" Laureen asked.

"Yeah...whenever you are." Charizard didn't like this at all. There were many things in his mind that he didn't want Laureen to know.

"Ok then." Laureen said. Charizard watched her close her eyes, and waited impatiently to see if she heard anything yet.

"Anything?" he asked.

"Don't say anything out loud, just think it." Laureen instructed. Charizard's thoughts boomed loudly in her head.

"_I wonder if she can hear this."_ Charizard thought. He glanced at Laureen and saw her smiling, so he guessed that she could_. "You're very lucky to have magic, you know. Very few people can. Sure, I can breathe fire and all, but that doesn't compare to having magic..."_ Laureen listened to Charizard ramble for a few minutes until she became bored of it. She was about to stop when she heard something interesting.

"............_.I wonder what's for dinner. Maybe I'll ask Mewtwo to make his Five-cheese Lasagna. Man, that stuff is good! Maybe after dinner I can take Laureen to--"_ Charizard abruptly stopped when he remembered she was still reading his mind. Laureen opened her eyes. "What? Where are you gonna take me?" She asked anxiously.

"She wasn't supposed to hear that." Charizard said under his breath.

"It's a surprise." He answered coolly.

"Will I like it?" She asked, trying to get Charizard to at least give her a hint. Unfortunately, she got none.

"I think so." He responded with a sly smile.

"I wonder what he's planning....I still don't know if I can trust him...what if he's on Mewtwo's side....?" Laureen pushed the thought away.

"So...until then, what can we do?" Laureen asked. It was only around mid-day. And there was still plenty of time left before dinner.

"You're kidding right? This place is huge! There's tons of stuff to do here!" Charizard answered.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Laureen mounted Charizard's back and screamed when she saw how fast they took off. They flew across the spiral staircase room and headed for the roof. Mewtwo, who was watching from atop the staircase, saw them.

"Charizard's becoming quite attached to that girl. Heh. We'll see how his loyalty upholds when the time comes." He said aloud. He flew off into the depths of the castle.

--TO BE CONTINUED...


End file.
